Defender seeks move away to re unite with former manager

Manchester United Left Back Luke Shaw wants to re unite with former boss, Mauricio Pocchettino, current Tottenham manager according to The Sun.

Shaw, 21, joined Manchester United in June 2014 for £27 million and has not featured as frequently as he could due to continuous injuries. Shaw has only made 2 appearances in the last 4 months, his last game being the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.

Mourinho tried to sign Shaw when he was manager of Chelsea and failed in his bid to lure the left back to Stamford Bridge, who opted to move to Old Trafford. Could there still be animosity between the two?

Mourinho was thought to be unhappy that the England international was speaking to the Bournemouth players during the game and has not featured since. The Portuguese manager also felt that Shaw was not fit enough and was not doing all he could to regain match fitness.

Mourinho was asked about Luke Shaw after the 0-0 draw at home against West Brom on Saturday and said, “It’s difficult for him to be on the bench. Because I cannot compare him with Ashley Young, or with Matteo Darmian, or with Daley Blind. I cannot compare the way he trains, the way he commits, the focus, the ambition. I cannot compare. He is a long way behind.”

With these comments made public, Shaw was left feeling embarrassed and unwanted by the manager and the club. Mourinho could have been making the comments to fire Shaw up and show the potential he has in the matches but this is not the first time the Manchester United manager has spoken publicily about one of his players.

In September, Mourinho dropped midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan after a poor showing in his first derby against Manchester City and did not play the Armenian for 2 months. Mourinho did bring him back into the squad and explained that he was protecting Mkhitaryan and wanted the Armenian to first adapt to the style of English football. He has also publicly criticised Anthony Martial for not showing his qualities and for being inconsistent.

Luke Shaw has apparently spoken to Jose Mourinho in regards to the comments made on Monday and an understanding seems to have been made between the two as Shaw has been selected in the squad for tonight’s home match against Everton.

Though reports claim the left back has been left hurt by his treatment and seeks a move away due to the words from Mourinho, and Tottenham being his preferred club, Skysports pundit Gary Neville believes the 21 year old should prove his talent to the club.

“The harshest possible comments that can be levelled at you is that you don’t train hard enough,” Neville told Sky Sports News HQ. “Jose has levelled that at Luke and I obviously worked with him for a couple of years with England. This is a sensational talent, who’s got many years in front of him.

“It’s how Luke Shaw takes those words on. Does he think, ‘That’s it, that’s the end for me’ or does he think, ‘I’ll show you’. I hope it’s the latter. I hope he thinks, ‘I’ll prove this man wrong’ because I do believe in him as a talent and a player. I’ve seen him first-hand. He’s got it to do because the manager’s really throwing down the gauntlet.”

Luke Shaw is a promising talent and has the attributes to become a great at Manchester United and hopefully he will prove Mourinho wrong. If he decides to leave or Mourinho wants to sell him, Tottenham would be a good fit with an an exceptional manager who could bring Shaw back to where he has always had the potential to be.